Lighting-fixture-cleaning device



E. D. TILLSON.

LIGHTING FIXTURE CLEANING DEVICE. I APPLICATION FILED APR. :9. 1920.. I1,41 5,065, Patented May 9, 1922.

5 SHEETS-SHEET a.

E. D. TILLSON.

LIGHTING FIXTURE CLEANING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED APR-19, i920.

Patented May 9, 1922.

" E. n. TILLSON.

LIGHTING FIXTURE CLEANING DEVICE.

. APPLICATION FILED APR. 19. I920.

1,415,065, Patented May 9,1922.

5 suans-snaai a.

E. D. TILLSON.

LIGHTING FIXTURE CLEANING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 19. I920.

1 ,41 ,065. Patented May 9, 1922.

5 $HEETS-SHEEI 4.

EDWIN D. TILLSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 ASSOCIATED ENGINEERSCOMPANY, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

LIGHTING-FIXTURE-CLEANING DEVICE.

Application filed April 19,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN D. TILLSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Lighting-Fixture-Cleaning Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to lighting fixtures and more particularly tolighting fixtures provided with means for cleaning the same.

The invention further relates to a lighting fixture wherein a means isprovided for cleaning dust and dirt from certain parts of the same bydevices operated from the pull cord of the light simultaneously with theoperation of the switch controlling the light.

The invention more particularly relates to a means for wiping dust anddirt from the surfaces of a lighting fixture through which the lightmust pass or from which it is re flected and from a bulb associated withthe same upon operating a pull cord, which may at the same time operateto turn the light on or off.

Further objects and advantages will ap pear from the following detaileddescription of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, whereinsimilar parts are referred to by similar reference characters, and inwhich Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of one form of myimproved lighting fixture;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional detail view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. i is a side elevation partly in section of another form of myimproved lighting fixture;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional detail View of the lower portion ofthe fixture shown in Fig. i;

Fig. 6 is a plan View of the actuating mechanism for this form of thedevice;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation partly in section of still another form ofthe improved lighting fixture;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional detail Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented May 9, 1922.

threaded to receive the cap at one end and internally screw threaded atthe other end for receiving the fixture stem 16.

The reflector is clamped to the fitting 15 by a lock nut 17 screwed ontoan externally screw threaded portion 18 of the fitting 15. The reflectoris clamped between a pair of leather washers 19. The socket 123 issurrounded by a shell of metal or other suitable material 20 which ismounted for rotation on the socket cap at 21. The shell 20 acts as adrum to receive the rope or cord 22 by means of which it is rotated aswill be clear from an examination of Fig. 1. The rotation of the drumcaused by a pull of the cord 22 will be in a counter-clockwise direction(looking downwardly) as will be clear from an inspection of Figs. 1 and8. A coil spring 23 is suitably mounted in the fitting 15 and the shellor drum 20 so as to be put under tension when the drum is rotated in acounter-clockwise direction as described above. The coil spring is shownin the drawings as being secured to the drum and fitting respectively bythe insertion of the ends thereof in the holes 2% and 25 in the members20 and 15. In order to provide a bearing against the lower part of thesocket for the drum 20 the knob-like members 26 are secured thereto inany suitable manner as by riveting. These are provided in spacedrelation about the drum and act so as to properly space the drum andsocket at the lower ends thereof.

The extreme lower end portion of the drum 20 is provided with a bead 2?vand a ring 28 is mounted thereon so as to be free to rotate thereabout.The drum 20 is provided with a spring linger 29 secured to the innerface thereof in any suitable manner as by rivets. The beveled finger ordog 30 is provided on the end of th member 29.3116,

is adapted to project through an opening 31 in the member 20 due to thespring action of the member 29.

The ring 28 is provided with suitable openings 32 and it will be evidentthat when any one of the openings 82 coincides with the openings 31 thefinger 30 will be pressed into said opening and due to the beveled facethereoi. will again ride out of the opening it the drum is moving in aclock-wise direction (looking downward) as will be evident from aninspection of Fig. 3. However, it the drum moves in a counter-clockwisedirection as will be the case when the cord 22 is pulled, the rightangular end of the finger 30 will engage the opening 32 and the ring 28will be turned with the drum 20. Tt will be evident from the above thatwhen the cord 22 is pulled this will cause the ring to be rotated,however, upon a release of the cord the spring will cause a reverserotation of the drum but this will not be imparted to the ring due tothe dog 30 which produces a TGSLOI'HT/TOD of the parts to their originalposition without affecting posit-ion of the ring 28.

Integral with the ring 28 is a bracket 33 upon which are pivoted arms anand 35, these arms being pivoted on the bolt 36 about which is coiledthe intermediate portion of spring 37 which engages in openings in thearms 3st and 35 and acts to press them away :trom each other. The arms34 and 35 are provided respectively with a member Ll L119 oi telt-likematerial 38 and 39 secured thereto in any suitable manner as by rivetingthe same between a pair of metal strips. The arms and 35 bear with theirfelt or asbestos contact faces 38 and 39, due to the action of thespring 37, respectively, against the inner surface of the reflector 12and the outer surface 01 the bulb or other source of light e0.

Suitably secured to the rope 22 is a cord 41 connected by means of thespring tension member 41-2 to the chain pull 41-3 of the pull socket a lmounted on the fixture 11. The cord 41 passes over a pulley 15 mountedon the arm 46 secured in any suitable manner to the fixture 1i andcarrying a pulley t? over which the rope 22 passes so as to place thering 4L8 on the end thereof within reach of the operator.

The entire fixture may be suitably guyed if desired by a wire 49suit-ably anchored in any desirable manner at 50 and secured to thebracket 51 on the fixture through a turn buckle 52 by means of which thetension on the wire can be adjusted so as to prevent any undesirablesidewise jerking oi? the fir;- ture 11 when the rope 22 is operated.

it will be noted that when the ring 48 is pulled the rope 22 willactuate the drum 20 and as there is a certain amount of slack on thecord ll atter a portion of the movement of the cord 22 has taken placethe cord ll will pull the chain 43 so as to operate the switch i l toturn on or oil the light. he spring 42 is provided so that it is notnecessary to adjust the slack in the cord 41 with any great nicety so asto cause the device to operate properly.

Referring now to Figs. 4- to G inclusive the lighting fixture 61comprises a light transmitting and reflecting member such as atranslucent glass bowl 62 provided with a suitable flange at 63 tocooperate with the flanged portion 64 of the spun metal ring 65 pro idedwith loops or eyes 66 engaging hooks 67 on arms 68 riveted to the sockethousing 69. E oocket 70 supports the lamp T1 connected electrically bythe canopy switch 72 supported by the yoke '73 within the fixture canopyi l. The bowl 62 may ie an opaque reflecting member if desired.

The member 7 5 preferably a metal spinning, closes the bottom opening inthe translucent member 62, being held thereon by set screws 76 engagingin the groove 77 of said member 62. The closure member supports thestationary hollow trunnion 78 on which the drum 79 rotates. The drum isactuated in its rotary movement by the cords 80 which extend about thedrum 7 9 by pulling on the ring 81 carried by the cord 82 'ecured to thecords 80 by ring 83.

The cords 80 extend over the pulleys 841 which guide them in the properdirection to engage with the drum 79, the pulleys being suitablyrotatably mounted in the bottom member 7 5.

The drum 7%) is provided with a coil spring 85 secured to the drum andto the housing 75 in any suitable manner as by having the ends extendthrough openings 86 and 87 in members 75 and 79 respectively, the coilspring being put under tension when the drum is rotated by pulling onthe cord 82.

The drum is also provided with spring fingers or dogs 88 which areadapted to en gage with the arm 89 mounted for rotation on member 78when the drum is moved in a counter-clockwise direction (looking down)and move the same in unison with the drum. However when the drum isturned in the opposite direction by the spring, the arm 89 will rideover the lingers SS and will not rotate therewith.

The arm 89 is preferably made up of two metal strips 90 and a centrallayer of feltlike material 91 riveted there between and extending beyondsaid. strips. The felt portion 91 of the arm is shaped to conform to andengage closely with an inner surface of the lightingfixture such as theinner surface of the bowl 62.

Extendin through the tube 78 is a pull cord 92 connected at one end withthe ring 8? and at its other end to the chain pull 93 on the switch 72through the medium of coil spring 94. The coil spring is provided as tomake it unnecessary to provide a very nice adjustment of the slack incord 92, as the spring would compensate for any shortness of the cord.

hen the cord 82 is pulled by theoperator grasping the ring 81 the wipingarm 89 is drawn over the inner surface of the bowl 62 through the agencyof cords 80 thus cleaning the same and the switch 72 is simultaneouslyoperated through the agency of cord 92. Any dirt wiped off by the armwill drop out of the bowl through openings 95.

After the cord 82 is released the drum 7 9 is rotated in the reversedirection by the spring 85 and the cord is wound up thereon, however,without moving the arm 89, because of the structure of ratchet teeth 88.

In both forms of the invention described above the wiping arm travelsthrough an arc of'approximately 400 with each pull of the cord 82.

Referring now to Figs. 7 to 9 inclusive, the lighting fixture 96comprises a reflector similar to the reflector 12, said reflector beingheld on by a nut 17, a socket 13 carrying a lamp 40, .a stem 16' and aswitch 44 carried thereby. The collar 97 acts as an abutment for thereflector 12 and a dust cap 98 is mounted between the nut 17 and thereflector 12.

A square metallic frame 99, preferably made of angle iron carries thetransparent member 100 made of heat resisting glass. Interposed betweenthe glass member 100 and the frame 99 are gaskets 101 of compressiblematerial to relieve the pressure of the iron on the glass. The frame 99is held against the under side of the reflector 12' by the toggle bolts102 pivoted to the frame at 103 and by the hinge connection 104 securingthe frame 99 to the frame 105 comprising straps extending along thesides of the reflector and connected by bolts 106 and 107. Interposedbetween the reflector .and the glass is a felt gasket 108 provided withventilating openings 109, covering the openings to exclude dust is alayer of open mesh bolting cloth 110.

The cleaning member 111 is provided with two vertical extensions 112,one at each end thereof. Each of these extensions have rigidly fastenedthereto the rocker arm 113 which bears upon the upper edge of frame 99.The cleaning blade 111 carries a felt insert 114 clamped between thesame and a strip 115 by means of bolts or anyother suitable means.Secured to the cleaning member 111 in any suitable manner as by an eyeare cords 116 and 117. The cord 117 passes over the pulley 118 mountedon the bracket 119 carried by the frame 105, and is provided with aspring take up 120 anchored to the spring connection 42 in the slackpull cord length 41 connected to the chain pull 43 of switch. 44 in asimilar manner as the cord 41 is connected with the switch 44.

The fixture is braced at 122 in any suitable manner to prevent jerkingof the same.

When the cord 116 is actuated by a pull on the rod 123 the blade 111rocks in an anticlockwise direction as is clear from Fig. 8 and the felt114 co'mes'in contact with the under surface of the glass 100 and isdrawn across the same from left to right, in the drawings, wiping thedirt and dust from the same. As the blade 111 nears the end of itstravel the slack in the cord 41 is taken up and the switch 44 isoperated. After relieving the tension on the cord 116 the spring 120,which has been tensioned by pulling said cord, exerts a tension on cord117, and draws the blade 111 back to its initial position, however,without the felt 114 coming in contact with the glass 100, due to theaction of the rocker arm 113, which rocks the felt away from the glass.It will be seen that in this form as well as in the other forms theactive face of the fixture is cleaned by a wiping motion of themechanism that takes place simultaneously with the operation of theswitch. This is desirable as it insures a cleansing of the fixturewhenever the light is turned on Or off. It is also desirable that thewiping member always moves in the same direction across the surface tobe cleaned, as a reciprocal motion fails to'clean the same.

'The active surfaces of the reflectors or light distributors of Figs. 1to 3 may, if desired, be made of plaster of Paris so that the cleaningsweeper element in sweeping across these surfaces sweeps away the dirtyplaster of Paris particles. As the plaster of Paris may be ofconsiderable thickness it will last indefinitely even though slowly wornaway by the cleaning operation.

Having thus described my invention, I desire to have it understood thatthe same is not to be limited to any of the exact details of thedisclosure, in any way except as defined by the following claims? Iclaim-? c 1. In 'a lighting fixture, wiping means for cleaning theactive faces of said fixture, means for operating said wiping means toimpart successive movements always in the same direction thereto uponsuccessive operations of said operating means, and a'cord for actuatingsaid operating means.

2. In a lighting fixture, wiping means f0 cleaning the active faces ofsaid fixture, a ratchet means for operating said wiping means, and acord for actuating said ratchet mechanism to impart a movement to thewiping means always in the same direction.

3. In a lighting fixture, means for cleaning said fixture comprising arotatable arm,

a pull cord and operating means for said arm, said pull cord beingconnected wit said operating means so as to successively rotate said armalways in the same direction by every pull on said cord.

4;. In a lighting fixture, a switch, a 'pull cord for operating saidswitch connected thereto, means for cleaning said fixture and a flexiblemember connected with said pull cord and said cleaning means foroperating said cleaning means simultaneously with said switch.

5. In a. lighting fixture, a switch, a pull cord for operating saidswitch connected thereto, rotatable means for cleaning said fixture anda flexible member connected with said pull cord and said cleaning meansfor operating said cleaning means simultaneously with said switch.

6. In a lighting fixture, wiping means for cleaning the active faces ofsaid fixture, a ratchet mechanism for operating said wiping means, acord for actuating said ratchet mechanism to impart successive movementsalways in the same direction to said wiping means, and means forretracting said cord.

7. In a lighting fixture, a light controlling switch and means forcleaning said fixture comprising an armadapted to be moved over thesurface to be cleaned, said arm being provided with a contact face offelt-like material and flexible means for operating; said arm andsimultaneously operating said switch.

8. In a lighting fixture, means for cleaning the active faces of saidfixture comprising a sweeping arm, means for operating said armcomprising a pull cord and a connection between said arm and saidoperating means to move said arm successively always in the samedirection of movement for every pull on the cord.

9. In a lighting fixture, a socket member, a light bulb mounted in saidsocket member, a reflector secured in concentric spaced relation to saidbulb and means for simultaneously cleaning the outer surface of saidbulb and the reflecting surface of said reflector.

10. lln a lighting fixture, a socket member, a lighting bulb mounted insaid socket memher, a reflector secured in concentric spaced relation tosaid bulb and wiping arms for simultaneously cleaning the opposed facesof said bulb and reflector.

11. In a lighting fixture, a socket member, a lighting bulb mounted insaid socket member, reflector secured in concentric spaced relation tosaid bulb. wiping arms for simultaneouslv cleaning the opposed face ofsaid bulb and reflector. means for operating said arms and means toretract said operating means to its original position.

12. In a. lighting fixture, a. socket member, a lighting bulb mounted insaid socket mem. her, a reflector secured in concentric spaced relationto said bulb, spring pressed wiping arms for simultaneously cleaning theopposed faces of said bulb and reflector, means for operating said armsand means to retract said operating means to its original position.

13. In a lighting fixture, means for cleaning the active faces of saidfixture, and self restoring actuating means for said cleaning means,said cleaning means comprising a 1'0- tatably mounted arm and saidactuating means comprising a drum, means for imparting rotation to saiddrum in one direction, springs means for retracting said drum to itsoriginal position and a ratchet connection between said drum and saidarm whereby a progressive wiping movement is imparted to said arm.

14. In a lighting fixture, means for clean the active faces of saidfixture, a switch mounted on said fixture and means for simultaneouslyoperating said switch and said cleaning means to actuate said cleaningmeans with every actuation of said switch, whereby said fixture iscleaned every time said switch is opened or closed to turn the light onand off.

15. In a lighting fixture, means for cleaning said fixture comprising anarm adapted to moved over the surface to be cleaned with a progressivewiping movement, selfrestoring means for operating said arm, and a pullcord for actuating said operating means,said operatingmeans producingsuccessive wiping movements of said arm always in the same direction.

16. in a lighting fixture, means for cleaning said fixture comprisinganarm adapted to be moved over the surface to be cleaned with aprogressive wiping movement, a switch associated. with said fixture,selfrestoring means for operating said arm, and a flexible member foractuating said operating means and simultaneously operating said switch.

17. In a lighting fixture, a socket member, a lighting bulb mounted insaid socket memher, a reflector secured in concentric spaced relation tosaid bulb, an arm conforming to the inner surface of said reflector androtatable means for supporting said arm, an arm conforming to the outersurface of said bulb mounted on said rotatable means, said arms beingprovided with a common pivot on said rotatable means, and a springmember engaging said arms to force said arms apart and into engagementwith the reflector and bulb respectively.

18. In a lighting fixture, a socket member, a lighting bulb mounted insaid socket member, a reflector secured in concentric spaced relation tosaid bulb, an arm conforming to the inner surface of said reflector androtatable means for supporting said arm, an

arm conforming to the outer surface of said bulb mounted on saidrotatable means, said arms being provided with a common pivot on saidrotatable means, and a spring member engaging said arms to force saidarms apart and into engagement With the reflector and bulb respectively,the faces of said arms engaging the surfaces of said reflector and bulbbelng provided with felt-like wiping surfaces.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 21st day of MarchA. 1)., 1920.

EDWIN D. TILLSON.

